Cumberland Farms Faces Tobacco Ban At Upcoming Brockton Store

BROCKTON, MA — Cumberland Farms had proposed opening a new store in front of the Walmart on Oak Street. Things seemed like they were running smoothly after the city's planning board approved the store, but there's new roadblocks because of Brockton's local regulations on selling tobacco products.

Cumberland Farms is scheduled to appear before the city's board of health next Thursday, at 4L30 p.m., regarding the store's request for a license to sell tobacco. In 2016, the board of health implemented regulations limiting access for new permits for selling tobacco.

Brockton Executive Health Officer Louis Tartaglia, although he didn't mention Cumberland Farms specifically, told the Brockton Enterprise that the city already has 133 tobacco license holders, and the city cannot create new licenses. He said the only way a new business could get a license is to buy a place that already has a license. The license otherwise cannot be transferred. If a store closes or stops selling tobacco products, the license is returned to the town and never issued again.

For more on this story, check out the Brockton Enterprise.

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